Steelers @ Panthers
Final Score: Panthers 34, Steelers 9
Writer: Corey Saucier (@Deputy_Commish on Twitter)
With this matchup between the Steelers and Panthers about as close as the score suggests, it allowed plenty of room for some smaller storylines to share the spotlight in this final preseason matchup for both teams. The most interesting of which was the Panthers’ kicking battle between struggling veteran K Joey Slye and complete unknown K Ryan Santoso. If you haven’t heard of Santoso, don’t feel bad – his last kick in a competitive football game was in December of 2015 while he was in college at Minnesota. Santoso stands at a hulking 6’5″, 260 pounds, and had just been acquired from the Giants via trade a day before this game. Santoso’s first attempt from 52 yards skipped off of the inside of the right upright and fell in.
Ryan Santoso hits a 52-yard field goal!
📺: NFLN & WSOC pic.twitter.com/6aK0zkRYLD
— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) August 28, 2021
Later on, Slye’s first attempt of the game from 49 yards sailed wide right. As Santoso went on to nail a short FG later and all 3 of his extra-point tries, it appears that Slye’s career in Carolina has come to an end as he was released on Saturday. Be on the lookout for a giant kicker coming to NFL stadiums this fall. For game action other than one team’s kicking battle, let’s dive some more into what we saw.
Pittsburgh Steelers
| HOF Game | Preseason Week 1 | Preseason Week 2 |
Quarterbacks
Dwayne Haskins: 9/16, 108 yards, TD, INT | 3 carries, 6 yards
Joshua Dobbs: 6/11, 35 yards
It was no surprise to see Steelers’ starting QB Ben Roethlisberger and likely backup QB Mason Rudolph have the night off against Carolina, so we were treated to a lackluster battle for 3rd-string QB instead. QB Dwayne Haskins is tasked with rebuilding not only his career prospects but also his image as the 3rd-year Ohio State product took a bump to his reputation during his first two seasons in Washington. Haskins did little to rebuild either against Carolina on Friday night, but a last-minute TD drive at least gave him one feather in his cap. Haskins struggled in the first quarter – failing to even secure a single first-down against a mix of starters and backups for Carolina’s defense. After two straight three-and-outs to start the game, Haskins threw an awful interception to his fullback that was a little behind him and had way too much velocity:
Burny B can do it all
📺: NFLN & WSOC pic.twitter.com/0k3qlZLJxa
— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) August 28, 2021
QB Joshua Dobbs took the ball at halftime and failed to produce much himself – although he did finally lead Pittsburgh’s offense to their first points of the night – a 52-yard field goal by K Chris Boswell. Dobbs otherwise looked about we would expect: like a 3rd-string QB playing with a backup offense in a preseason game. I assumed that Dobbs would finish out the game, but in a strange turn of events, Haskins re-entered the game about halfway through the 4th quarter. Haskins went on to connect with WR Ray-Ray McCloud a handful of times on the Steelers’ final drive, including a 22-yard TD. There is some speculation that Haskins could overtake Rudolph for the backup QB position, but after Friday night’s performance, I would honestly be shocked.
Running Backs
Benny Snell, Jr: 8 carries, 28 yards | 1 target, 1 reception, 4 yards
Kalen Ballage: 2 carries, 8 yards | 1 target
Jaylen Samuels: 3 carries, 8 yards | 2 targets, 2 receptions, 20 yards
Projected starting rookie RB Najee Harris got the night off against Carolina on Friday, so we got a closer look at Pittsburgh’s backup runners instead. With both Haskins and Dobbs turning in lackluster performances, Carolina’s defense was able to key in on stopping the run. As a result, we didn’t see a ton of action from this group of runners. Veteran Steelers’ RB Benny Snell started out the night and got most of the run for Pittsburgh, but other than a 17-yard scamper halfway through the 2nd quarter Snell only averaged about 1.6 yards on the rest of his carries. RB Jaylen Samuels had a couple of nice first-downs, one through the air and one on the ground, but was otherwise not on the field very much. Pittsburgh failed to maintain possessions and was unable to run the ball and control the clock. Clearly, Harris and the Steelers’ starting offense will look much different than this group we saw on Friday night, and Steelers’ fans should rejoice.
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
Ray-Ray McCloud: 9 targets, 4 receptions, 61 yards, TD | 1 carry, 5 yards
Chase Claypool: 2 targets, 1 reception, 18 yards | 1 carry, 11 yards
Anthony Johnson: 1 target, 1 reception, 12 yards
Marcus Baugh: 3 targets, 2 receptions, 11 yards
Pittsburgh’s poor quarterback play dragged down their entire offense, but none were more negatively affected than the pass-catching group. Backup WR Ray-Ray McCloud ended up with a decent stat line in the end, but the majority of his production came in the final 2 minutes of the game. McCloud could have had an even bigger night but he fell victim to a couple of missteps. There was a shot for a big gainer from Haskins down the left sideline in the 2nd quarter, but McCloud could only get one foot inbounds. Later in the first half, McCloud beat 1-on-1 coverage and found himself streaking over the middle of the field but Haskins’ throw was inaccurate. We didn’t see starters WR Diontae Johnson or WR JuJu Smith-Schuster on Friday, but WR Chase Claypool picked up a couple of first downs on his two touches. Overall, much like the running backs, this is a group that will look much different come Week 1 in Buffalo against the Bills.
Carolina Panthers
| Preseason Week 1 | Preseason Week 2 |
Quarterback
Sam Darnold: 19/25, 162 yards, 2 TD
Will Grier: 5/7, 47 yards | 3 carries, 22 yards, TD
P.J. Walker: 5/10, 83 yards
Panthers’ head coach Matt Rhule let us know ahead of time that QB Sam Darnold and the Panthers’ offense would play the entire first half, and that he was looking for them to “set the tone” against Pittsburgh. Darnold did exactly that – firing two TD passes and avoiding any turnovers while leading the Panthers to an insurmountable lead by halftime. Darnold was aided by nearly his entire starting offense, minus superstar RB Christian McCaffrey. Considering that Pittsburgh put mostly second-stringers from their defensive unit out against Carolina, it wasn’t much of a surprise to see Carolina move the ball so efficiently. Darnold connected with both WR Robby Anderson and WR Terrace Marshall Jr. on second-quarter TD passes. The first play to Marshall was on a beautifully set up screen play:
Terrace Marshall bout to be a problem y'all
📺: NFLN & WSOC pic.twitter.com/hgeWFNB39u
— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) August 28, 2021
The second TD pass to Anderson was an absolute dart – back shoulder into tight coverage:
We love Robby Anderson for real for real pic.twitter.com/BWhdfy4HPl
— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) August 28, 2021
The second half brought us the final chapter in the backup QB saga in Carolina. QBs Will Grier and P.J. Walker hadn’t done much to separate themselves from one another to this point in the preseason, but after Friday night’s matchup with the Steelers, Grier definitely has to be the favorite. Walker got the ball to start the third quarter and had a tough time moving the ball. Walker was erratic, misfiring and throwing with way too much velocity to receivers within short range. Grier wasn’t a lot better throwing the ball against the Steelers, but he showed some surprising wheels with this 24-yard TD scamper:
Will Grier with the wheels!!!
📺: NFLN & WSOC pic.twitter.com/V1J976xefg
— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) August 28, 2021
Look at Grier with the ankle-breaking juke in the open field! I tried for a few moments to find out who that poor safety was for Pittsburgh, but was unable to. He should be grateful that I can’t put him on blast for that. That being said, Grier seems to have done enough to win the backup QB job in Carolina, and Darnold looks poised and eager to improve on his time in New York with the Jets.
The Giants really really drafted Kadarius Toney over Terrace Marshall
The Seahawks really drafted D’Wayne Eskridge over Terrace Marshall
The Rams really drafted TuTu Atwell over Terrace Marshallpic.twitter.com/d05c6K4aRr
— Jack Cavanagh (@javanagh87) August 15, 2021
Running Backs
Chuba Hubbard: 10 carries, 35 yards | 4 targets, 3 receptions, 15 yards
Spencer Brown: 11 carries, 57 yards, TD
Darius Clark: 5 carries, 7 yards | 2 targets, 1 reception, 12 yards
For a second consecutive week, consensus #1 overall fantasy prospect RB Christian McCaffrey fully dressed out and completed his pregame warmups, and for a second consecutive week, he failed to take a preseason snap for the Panthers. McCaffrey is 100% healthy and ready to tackle this season after missing most of the 2020 season with various injuries. Rookie RB Chuba Hubbard has filled in admirably for McCaffrey this preseason and appears to be primed for a backup role for the Panthers during the regular season. Even more impressive than Hubbard on Friday night, however, was undrafted free agent rookie RB Spencer Brown. Brown sprinkled in some touches to spell Hubbard in the first half, but took the reins in the second half himself. Brown looked sharp early in the third, making multiple solid plays leading up to this 20-yard TD run:
just really love how this team hypes each other up pic.twitter.com/scaHqZaEN6
— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) August 28, 2021
RB Darius Clark also made his way onto the field for a few touches – including a strange play where he appeared to lose a fumble but was called down by contact. Replay showed it was clearly a fumble, but a review on a Pittsburgh challenge showed that the Steelers’ receiver who recovered the ball was out of bounds. It’s tough to see Clark holding onto a roster spot at this point, but he did show he can be useful as a receiver – grabbing a 12-yard reception out of the backfield.
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
D.J. Moore: 6 targets, 6 receptions, 48 yards
Terrace Marshall Jr: 4 targets, 3 receptions, 43 yards, TD
Robby Anderson: 5 targets, 2 reception, 15 yards, TD
Tommy Tremble: 2 targets, 2 receptions, 45 yards
We got to see the starting WR unit for Carolina take the field with QB Sam Darnold all at the same time on Friday against Pittsburgh, and all of them were given ample opportunities to produce throughout the first half. WR D.J. Moore was targeted heavily on Carolina’s opening drive and hauled in all 3 of his targets. We already saw that Marshall and Anderson found the end-zone for Carolina, but Moore finished with the most targets on the night from Darnold, as well. This could be one of the most heavily scrutinized fantasy WR rooms in the NFL as far as how targets will be split. On this night, Moore was the top dog, but it’s to be expected that Darnold will look to his old pal Anderson from their days together with the Jets during Darnold’s first two NFL seasons. All of that being said, rookie Terrace Marshall Jr. has proven that he belongs and will command touches also. Rookie WR Shi Smith had a couple of catches himself but sustained an injury to his left shoulder while landing awkwardly after the second one. Smith is expected to miss a little time, but not much according to Carolina.
Writer: Corey Saucier (@Deputy_Commish on Twitter, /u/Lights_Kamara_Action on Reddit)